WHAT  WAS  LOST  IS  NOW  FOUND
by Robin Redbird
Summary: Paloma Reynosa takes Tim up on his offer to trade himself for Abby and her class in Mexico. what happens when he discovers someone thought long dead and brings her back to home?
1. Chapter 1

_**STOP! PLEASE DON'T READ! THERE ARE ONLY TWO CHAPTERS OF THIS STORY READY AND IT WON'T EVEN BE UPDATED UNTIL AT LEAST TWO OF MY OTHER STORIES ARE FINISHED! I AM ONLY POSTING THIS BECAUSE MY COMPUTER IS ON THE FRITZ AND IT IS ALREADY TYPED UP. I WILL BE POSTING ALL THAT I HAVE ON MY COMPUTER SO IT ISN'T LOST.-YES, I KNOW THAT I CAN GET SOMETHING TO BACK UP MY WORK BUT PLEASE REMEMBER THAT I HAVE BEEN OUT OF WORK FOR MONTHS NOW AND WON'T BE RETURING FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE. EVEN THAT SMALL AMOUNT IS BEYOND ME RIGHT NOW.**_

_**DISCLAIMER:I DON'T OWN ANYTHING!**_

"He very well may never forgive you for this." Sarah McGee warned as she paced back and forth in her brother's kitchen. Sarah was a very pretty young woman in her early twenties, with long, straight dark brown hair and eyes. She wore dark wash jeans and a pretty slate blue top that went well with her light olive complexion. She was, while not tall, not really short either.

Tim sighed wearily and ran a hand through his dark honey hair. It had been a long day and promised to be an even longer night. "I know, Sarah, I know." This was a familiar argument that had started when he had come back from his Mexico trip with an unwanted—as far as his sister was concerned, at least—guest in tow.

"He would want to know." She insisted stubbornly. "He_** deserves **_ to know."

Tim closed his brilliant green eyes. "I know, Sarah." He repeated tiredly. He knew that his sister was just as tired as he was and while she was jealous of the time and care that his guest required, Sarah didn't really resent her, just the position she had put Tim in.

"Then tell him!"She exclaimed, spinning around to face him. "You have to _**tell**_ him, Tim."

Tim sighed again. He was so tired. So very, very tired. He hadn't got a decent night's rest since going to Mexico months ago. His guests' nightmares were wearing on both of them. Not to mention a few of his own nightmares. Weariness had set in long ago and it was starting to affect his work. All he wanted to do was go to bed and sleep for a week. "I couldn't tell Gibbs even if I wanted to, Sarah. It's to late. It's already gone to far." He laid his head in his hands, his elbows resting on his thighs. Tim tried to force patience he didn't have to deal with his cranky little sister. "There's nothing to do now except to let this play out."

Sarah seemed to deflate a little then. "You should have told him before it got this far! You should have told him the minute you got back from Mexico and both of you were safe!" She yelled at him angrily, fear for her brother and the life he stood to lose all but consuming her.

"You should have called Gibbs from Mexico the very moment you _**found**_ her!"

Tim bristled at her tone, straightening in his chair. "I couldn't _**do**_ that! She was scared! She didn't know who to trust or what to believe! Paloma had did to good of job turning her against Gibbs! So I told her I wouldn't tell him!" He ran his hand through his honey colored hair agitatedly. "I promised!" He exploded. "I gave her my _**word!**_" He stood up, towering over his sister with his over six foot frame. " He wasn't there! I was! She needed help! I did what I thought Gibbs would do!" His voice got quieter when he heard rustling from the bedroom. "I did what I hoped Gibbs would do if our positions would have been reversed!" He hissed.

Leaf green eyes stared into chocolate colored ones and he realized that Gibbs wouldn't see that. All Gibbs would see was that she had been kept from him and Tim was the one who had did it. Tim slumped back into his chair. Tim's and Gibbs relationship had never been what Tony's and Gibbs was, but it was closer now then it had ever been. After years of uncertainty, Tim was finally sure of his place on the MCRT. But this changed things. _**She**_ changed things. It wouldn't matter how much good he had done. It wouldn't matter how many times Tim had obeyed Gibbs without thought, without hesitation, without reservation. All that would matter was that Tim had not told Gibbs something that Gibbs deserved to know. _**Needed**_ to know.

Gibbs would never trust him again.

Tim felt the breath leave his body as if from a physical blow. He had never thought about it before, everything had happened so fast, all he had had time to think about was getting her out of Mexico and keeping her safe while trying to keep the knowledge of her existence secret. And trying to keep the truth of the ordeal he had suffered at the hands of Paloma Reynosa secret. Tim would be forever thankful that, for whatever reason, Abby hadn't gone and called Gibbs as soon as he had been taken by Paloma. Thankful that he had been given time to make his own escape—something he was still suspicious about being able to accomplish on his own—taking with him a lost and frigtened fellow prisoner. He had been able to convince Abby not to tell and whatever reasons she had for keeping this a secret he hadn't had time to think about. He hadn't had time to think about the consequences of his actions these past few months, with trying to deal with his guests' physical and mental wounds—and his own—and keep up with his job. There just hadn't been time to consider what would happen when this all came out. How Gibbs—and everyone else—would react.

Sarah started to pace again, furious with her brother. She couldn't understand how such a smart man could do something so _**incredibly**_ stupid! "I can't believe that you would do something so—so _**stupid**_! I can't believe that you would let someone that was so terrified, so traumatized, make such a monumental decision!" She hissed angrily at her brother.

"You just said it yourself! She was terrified! Not only of Gibbs but of Paloma, too! Paloma was already targeting Gibbs! She had already went after Jackson! She was terrified of Paloma finding her and taking her back! I couldn't risk that! I couldn't risk _**her**_!" Tim exclaimed, trying to keep his voice down so he wouldn't disturb his guest. "Gibbs would never have forgiven me for _**that**_!"

"He's never going to forgive you anyway!" Sarah almost yelled, brown eyes flashing her anger at her brother.

"You—you just don't understand!" Tim pushed out through gritted teeth, his anger at the whole hopeless situation threatening to overwhelm him.

Sarah laughed mirthlessly. "And you think Gibbs is going to?" She asked in disbelief. "Admittedly, I don't know him that well but he just doesn't seem to be that kind of man to me!" She finished sarcastically. She took a deep breath and blew it out. "How do you see this ending, Tim? Do you really think that you'll still have a job once Gibbs discovers the truth?"

Tim slumped down in his chair in despair. He knew that his boss wouldn't understand why he had kept this from him. Hell, his reasons seemed weak to him—_**now—**_at the time the reasons he had kept this from Gibbs had seemed sound. Tim had to get her out of Mexico, without help, without proper documentation. All she had was the papers that Paloma and her brother had provided her with. Even if he had known the information about her birth, it wouldn't have done him any good. She was dead here. The only way to even get her into the U.S, without trying to sneak her in or having to wait for the endless piles of red tape, had been too... Tim shuddered. Another thing Gibbs wouldn't be pleased with when he found out. Would he think that Tim had taken advantage of her? Would Gibbs even listen to Tim's reasons for not only keeping this a secret but for doing the only thing he could think of so he could bring her into the country? And what about the little 'surprise'? What would Gibbs think about that? Would Gibbs take it as proof that Tim had taken advantage of her? No one would ever know the truth of _**that**_. Even when this farce ended, that would remain _**their**_ secret. Tim had given his word. As had Sarah. Neither McGee would break their word. Once given, it would _**never**_ be broken. It just wasn't in their nature.

Sarah sighed. "It can't go on like this, Tim. You're exhausted. I'm exhausted. And she isn't getting any better." She didn't mention the other innocent person in all this. The only truly innocent person as far as she was concerned. But she didn't have to. He was never far from Tim's mind. "I know that it isn't only your desire to help someone in need that is motivating you. I also know it isn't only that you wanted to save her for Agent Gibbs. You also want to give him something back. Something that he thought gone forever. And I know why." She said gently. "But you can't keep this up. Something has to give."

Sarah was, unfortunately, right. His guest needed more help then Tim could provide. More help then he knew how to give. She was scared of her own shadow. She refused to leave the apartment unless he was with her. She refused to stay by herself, even though she was terrified of staying with anyone who wasn't him. She only stayed with Sarah because he had to work. She didn't trust Sarah and would refuse to even stay in the same room with her if Tim wasn't there. She refused to even consider talking to someone. It was a miracle in itself that Tim had been able to get her to go to an actual doctor. There was no one he could go to for advice on the situation. Tim's nerves were shot, his neck stiff and tension had set up permanent residence in his shoulders. And he was still dealing with the aftermath of his own trauma. His sister was right again. Something _**had**_ to give, because if something didn't give, Tim was afraid that _**he**_ would.

Sarah looked at her brother. She could see the tension in his shoulders. He looked up at her and she saw the tired lines on his face, the exhaustion etched there. Anger surged in her. And jealousy. She was angry at her brother for always having to do what he considered the right thing. She was angry at that—_**that**_ woman for taking advantage of her brother's kind nature. And Sarah was jealous at her for taking over a part of her brother's life. Something that had wholly belonged to her from her first memory. Sarah had to share her beloved brother with someone else now and one thing that Sarah McGee did not do well was share.

Sarah heard a rustle and looked up to see an obviously pregnant woman with long, straight brown hair just a couple of shades lighter then her own dark chocolate locks and a pair of hauntingly familiar ice blue eyes that stared out of a pretty face with high cheek bones and an angular jaw that was just as familiar as her eyes were. This was the woman that Tim had found held prisoner in Mexico and had brought back the only way that he could, by marrying her. The woman who was supposed to have died years and years ago. The jealousy and anger got stronger as Sarah stared at the woman who had latched onto her brother and refused to let go.

The woman her brother had to marry in order to be able to bring her to Washington.

Kelly Gibbs...McGee.

The daughter of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The daughter he thought was dead.


	2. Chapter 2

_**HERE'S THE SECOND CHAPTER. AFTER THIS, IT WILL BE A WHILE BEFORE ITS UPDATED.**_

_**~NCIS~**_

Sarah laid a hand on her brother's shoulder. "Tim." She bit out, so angry that she was afraid to say anything else.

Tim looked up and saw the woman—his boss's _**daughter—**_that stood in his kitchen archway and immediately stood up. "Did we wake you up, Kay?" Tim asked, using the name he had given her when she refused to go by Kelly or use the name that had been on her Mexican paperwork. He went to her and placed his large, calloused hands on her slim, still to thin, shoulders. "I'm sorry." He apologized, ever the gentleman.

Kay pushed her brown hair out of her face and looked into Tim's eyes. "Is—is everything all right?" She asked uncertainly, glancing at Sarah then turning her eyes back to Tim.

Sarah snorted at the inanity of that question. No, everything wasn't all right. She seriously doubted anything would be all right,_**ever**_,again.

Tim turned to cast a glare at his sister. "Everything's fine, Kay." He said, facing her again. "Nothing to worry about." He forced a smile. "Go back to bed." Tim said encouragingly. "You need your rest." He hoped that she would. He knew that it was unkind but he needed a hour or two to himself. An hour or two without arguing with his sister about what to do or who to tell. Just a little time to get his bearings straight. A little time without the weight of four lives on his shoulders. Without having to make decisions for both him and her.

Kay looked at Sarah uneasily. "I wasn't asleep." She said hesitantly. "You weren't here." Kay dropped her icy blue eyes, not looking at either of them.

Tim sighed. If that wasn't proof she wasn't getting better he didn't know what was. Kay still refused to sleep until he was home. When he had first brought her back from Mexico Tim had had to take some time off to recover from the injuries he had suffered at Paloma Reynosa's hands and to settle Kay in. During that time he had got into the habit of laying with Kay. After many restless nights, Tim found that it was easier to just lay beside her so that he could sooth her when she had her nightmares. Now, she wouldn't even consider going to sleep unless he was there. Though Tim would never admit it, it also helped him. So many times he would close his eyes only to find himself in that dark, dank little cellar, hanging from chains hooked to the ceiling, at the mercy of Paloma Reynosa and her brother. Tim forced himself not to get lost in the memories that were still so fresh, even though it had been many months since that time. "I had to work late, Kay." Tim explained. "We caught a case."

Kay took a step closer to Tim. "You didn't call."

Tim sighed. This had been told to her before. "I can't always call, Kay."

"I know, Tim." Kay said in a tiny voice.

Tim felt two inches tall. Kay had a way of making him feel like he had just kicked a puppy sometimes. He squeezed her shoulders reassuringly and sighed. "I'm sorry." He lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes. "Next time, I will find a way to call you, even if it's only for a few seconds." He smiled. "I promise."

Kay smiled back at him. "And I promise not to get upset if you can't."

Tim gave her sad smile and drew her slowly to his chest. It was a promise that she had made before. A promise she had broken before. A promise that had been given, and broken, so many times that he had given up all hope of it ever being kept. Just as Tim had given up hope of many other promises made, being kept. The promise that Kay had made to work on getting better, the promise she had made about going to a therapist, the promise she had made to tell Gibbs. It had been a while since Mexico but she was still in almost the same place as she had been. Tim gently pressed a kiss to Kay's brown head then pushed her away from his chest. "Go lay down, Kay." He said, searching the familiar ice blue eyes. "I need to finish talking to Sarah and then I'll come to bed."

Kay studied him for a minute then nodded. "Alright." She said. Kay looked over Tim's shoulder to where Sarah stood. "Goodnight, Sarah."

Sarah nodded, not speaking, afraid of what would come out if she opened her mouth.

Kay left the kitchen for the bedroom, leaving the brother and sister standing in silence. After a few minutes, Tim jerked his head towards the door. As Tim followed his sister out of his apartment, he resigned himself to another sleepless night.

_**~NCIS~**_

Tony DiNozzo looked up anxiously when the elevator dinged, but slumped in his chair when the mail clerk got off. His Probie was late. Really late. And Tony was..._**concerned, **_even if he wouldn't ever admit that out loud. Tim had not been himself for a while now. Coming in late more times than not or showing up a few minutes before the day started where he had always been the first there—besides Gibbs, of course—and leaving the second he was given the all clear. Tim hadn't gone out with them after work for months and the one time Tony had went over to Tim's apartment to try and get him to do something over the weekend, Tim had stood in the doorway and wouldn't even let him in the apartment. And it wasn't even that Tim had closed himself off and wouldn't associate with them. He flinched whenever anyone touched him or even got too close. He had lost more weight, becoming rail thin. And he wasn't sleeping. They all could see that. And he was becoming increasingly short tempered. The worst thing, though, was that a couple of times when Tim had been surprised by them, Tony had thought he saw fear in his Probie's eyes. Tony had wanted to reach out, question Tim about what was wrong, but there had been something about in his partners' demeanor that warned him his overtures wouldn't be appreciated.

Tim had changed and not for the better. He did what his job required and nothing else. He didn't go out of his way for anyone—not anymore. The sympathy that Tim had always had, not only for the victims of crimes, but also for the criminals, had vanished, leaving contempt, and, sometimes, downright indifference in it's place. Tony didn't know which one honestly bothered him more. And he was making the kind of mistakes that Tony expected out of, well, a probie—and not a seasoned agent. There was also something wrong between Abby and him. Nothing really overt, but everyone could tell that they were just... _**not...**_ what they once had been. Yes, Tim had changed—and the changes disturbed Tony on many different levels.

The elevator dinged again and this time the man that was in Tony's thoughts rushed out when the doors opened. Tony breathed a sigh of relief and then stiffened in alarm at the tiredness etched on Tim's face and the even darker circles under his eyes. This was the worst that Tim had looked in a while.

"I am so sorry!" Tim said, hurrying to his desk. "It won't happen again!" He promised, dropping his pack and pulling his chair out.

Tony sighed at his words. Because it would happen again, of that Tony was certain. "No need to apologize to me, Tim. I'm not the boss."

"No, but Gibbs isn't here and you are my Senior Field Agent." Tim said, sitting wearily in his desk chair. He hadn't got any sleep last night, just not for the reasons he had suspected. Kay had started having real bad cramps about twelve. Tim had finally managed to convince her to go to the hospital about five. He hadn't wanted to leave her but he had to come to work. He wouldn't lie about why he needed to be off and Tim couldn't tell the truth, so he had called Sarah and left for work.

Tony sighed again. That was another thing that had changed. Tim had started treating Tony like … well like a boss. He treated Tony like he respected Tony's position above him. It wasn't that Tim had exactly disrespected him before. Tim had just treated him like Tony had treated Tim—more as a friend..._**brother**_... then as Senior Field Agent and Junior Field agent. But that was gone now and Tony missed it. It was like...like they weren't even friends anymore and Tony didn't even know what he had done that was so bad to cause Tim to not even want to be his friend anymore. Tony was scared that they were losing him, but he seemed to be the only one who noticed anything was wrong.

Tony was wrong in his assumption that he was the only one who had noticed there was something wrong with McGee. Ziva had noticed, too, and she found the changes in her teammate disturbing, also. She couldn't understand how a man such as Tim, a truly _**good, honorable **_ man, a man with such compassion, such kindness for his fellow human beings could change so completely. But she, like Tony, didn't know how to reach out again to Tim after her first overtures had been rebuffed. She watched with concern as Tim tried to focus his tired eyes on his computer screen and wondered what had happened to end a friendship that she had truly cherished. They were just co-workers now. Just people who worked in the same office and what bothered Ziva the most was not only didn't she know why everything had changed, she couldn't even pinpoint when it had changed.

Gibbs walked into the bullpen from a meeting and his lips thinned when he saw his junior field agent. McGee looked worse then he had yesterday and Gibbs hadn't thought that was even possible. He had resisted talking to the younger about his poor performance on the job but he wouldn't be able to keep from doing it much longer. It had gotten to the point where Gibbs was afraid to send McGee out into the field. He was worried that McGee would either end up shooting himself or someone else. A certain level of fitness—in mind as well as body—had to be maintained to be an effective field agent. McGee hadn't been on that level for sometime now. Gibbs continued onto his desk, wondering what he was going to do about it.


	3. Chapter 3

_DISCLAIMER:I DON'T OWN ANYTHING!_

_~NCIS~_

"You know,Probie, if you really wanted to commit suicide, there has to be a lot less painful way to do it then death by head slap." Tony said after Gibbs had slapped Tim for the fifteenth time, but who was counting. Okay, so he totally was. It wasn't everyday that someone broke the number of wake-up calls that Tony received in one week in a day.

"Yes, McGee." Ziva stood up and moved to perch on the corner of Tim's desk. "Do you really think that annoying Gibbs is a good idea?"

"She's right, Tim." Tony came over from his own desk. "You annoying Gibbs is like a mouse annoying a cat."

Tim rubbed a hand tiredly over his face. He had been making a lot more mistakes then usual and had lost his train of thought a lot that day. He was just worried about Kay and the baby. Sarah had promised to call when she found out anything but he hadn't heard anything from her and it was getting on to mid-afternoon. Add that to another sleepless night and his nerves were even more shot then they usually were. He slammed his fist down on his desk in sudden anger. He should have heard _something_ by now.

Ziva jumped when Tim's fist hit his desk, startled.

Tony was concerned. His Probie didn't act like this. He had never seen the junior agent let his anger get the better of him. He waved Ziva away as he moved in closer to the younger man. He knew that she was as worried as he was, but there was a better chance of Tim opening up with just one of them instead of two. He laid a hand on Tim's shoulder. "What's wrong, Tim?" He asked, squatting down beside his Probie.

Tim looked at the other man and relished the genuine concern he could see in the senior agent's green eyes. He wanted so much to unburden himself to his friend. And, yes, he knew that Tony was his friend, even if Tim hadn't acted much like a friend since coming back from Mexico. But he couldn't talk about it. He couldn't talk about any of it. Tim couldn't tell Tony about the things that had happened in that dark, dank, little cellar. He couldn't tell him that sometimes, something would happen and he would be back in that place, with Paloma Reynosa standing before him, one of many devices she used to torture him, in her dainty hands. The details would only hurt his friend. Would only make him feel hard towards Abby, and he didn't want that. He didn't want their relationship maybe ruined on his behalf. And he couldn't tell Tony about the rest of it, because Tony would probably keep his secret and Tim couldn't be the cause of the senior agent losing the only real father he had ever had. So he remained silent and watched as the light in his friend's brilliant green eyes dimmed to be replaced with disappointment and a little hurt.

Tony stood and laid a hand on his Probie's shoulder. "When you get ready to talk, Tim, I'm here." He made sure that he looked the younger man in the eyes, conveying without words that it had to be soon.

Tim tried to give the senior agent a smile but he was sure that it came out more as a grimace. He appreciated that Tony was willing to listen and maybe help with his problems even though he couldn't tell him anything. He also got the silent warning—fix whatever was wrong and fast. "I know, Tony." Tim said softly. "Thanks."

Tony cast another glance at the junior agent before returning to his desk. _'What's going on, Probie?'_ He asked silently. _'And why can't you tell me about it?' _He thought despairingly. Tony turned his attention to the cold case he was working on, putting his troubling thoughts away to come back to later.

_~NCIS~_

It was an hour later that the silence of the bullpen was disturbed by the ringing of Tim's phone. Tony and Ziva watched as he checked the caller I.D. Tim then jumped up from his chair and left the bullpen at a rapid walk.

"What do you think that's about?" Tony asked after Tim had disappeared around the corner.

"I do not know." Ziva said, her dark eyes still looking at the corner where her partner had disappeared around.

"I'm going to find out." Tony said, pushing his chair back and getting up.

"Do you think over listening on his private conversation is a good idea on how to get him to trust us with what is wrong?" Ziva asked reasonably.

Tony plopped back down in his chair. "You're right." He said, disgruntled. He brightened when another idea came to him. He started to furiously type on his computer.

Ziva gave a weary sigh. "What are you doing now, Tony?"

"I'm tracing his phone call." Tony said simply, still typing on his keyboard.

Ziva shook her head. "Tony..." She said warningly.

"What?" Tony asked, looking at her.

"I know you are worried, but this is not the way to go about helping him." She said, her dark eyes serious. "He would not thank you for invading his privacy."

Tony sighed and sat back in his chair. "I know." He said, a little bit of whine in his voice. "It's just..." He trailed off, not knowing how to put into words what he was feeling.

"McGee is in trouble and you want to help, yes?" She finished for him.

Tony nodded mutely.

"You are upset that he will not confide in you, yes?"

Tony nodded again, not saying anything.

"He is your friend and every other time that he had needed help he has come to you or you have managed to push your way in and you can't understand why this time is different."

"He is my _best_ friend and I need to help him and I just can't understand why he won't let me." Tony whispered with troubled green eyes.

"But this is not about what you need, Tony." Ziva said softly, with an understanding smile. "This is about what he needs. And right now, he needs this to be kept to himself." She finished with surprising insight.

Tony opened his mouth to reply but before he could say anything Tim came rushing around the corner and into the bullpen. He went straight to his desk and gathered his stuff, he stopped at Tony's desk after he had grabbed everything.

"I've got to got to go, Tony." He said in a rush. His mind was on Kay.

Tony stood up, somewhat alarmed. "You can't just go, Tim!" He exclaimed. "What about Gibbs?"

"I've got a family emergency." Tim didn't say what kind of family emergency and thankfully Tony didn't ask.

"You—You can't just leave! You have to tell Gibbs!"

"Gibbs isn't here! You are my senior field agent! I'm telling you!" Tim knew the position that he was putting Tony in but he had to get to Kay. Sarah said she was scared and wouldn't let the male doctor look at her. He had said specifically that Kay was to have a woman doctor but it seems no one listened to his instructions. Kay could do damage to herself or the baby if he didn't hurry up and get there.

"Tim, you can not do that to Tony." Ziva said, standing up from her desk. "That is not fair!"

Tim turned to Ziva. "What part of 'family emergency' don't you get?" He asked in a hard, irritated voice.

Before Ziva could go at him for talking to her in such a harsh, condescending way, Tony intervened. "Go, Probie. I'll square it away with the boss."

Tim threw a grateful look at Tony over his shoulder as he all but ran to the elevator.

The two remaining members of Team Gibbs stood looking at each other for a long while in partial shock. They had never heard Timothy McGee speak to anyone in a tone as he had just spoken to Ziva, especially a woman. Tim talked to everyone with the respect he thought was their due even if they didn't extend any to him in return. Something was wrong, really wrong.

"Now can I run that trace?"

Ziva nodded as Tony started to type on his computer.

"Do you think it is Sarah?" Ziva asked, coming to perch on the corner of Tony's desk. "The family emergency?" She continued when the senior field agent looked at her blankly.

"I've never seen him act like that about anyone else..." There was something in Tony's voice that made Ziva get up and go to stand behind Tony.

"He wasn't kidding about the emergency part, was he?" Tony asked, bending his head back to look at her.

Ziva shook her head and they both stared at the computer screen.

_'Bethesda Naval Hospital'_

_~NCIS~_

_Hey! I know that I said I wouldn't update this until I had finished my other stories but I needed a break from them so I worked on this some._


	4. Chapter 4

_DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING!_

_~NCIS~_

Tony grabbed his desk phone and immediately started dialing. "This is special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. I need to speak with Commander Johnson." He said, giving the name of their contact at Bethesda. "Please tell her it's a matter of importance."

"What are you doing, Tony?" Ziva hissed, coming out of the stupor she had been in.

Tony covered the phone's mouth piece. "Getting information." He sat up straighter when a voice came over the line. "Hey, Jeanette." He greeted after taking his hand off the the phone. "Yeah, long time no speak." He said with a laugh. "Good. I'm doing good. How about yourself?" Tony listened for a minute. "Really? Little Cody's thirteen now? I guess he's not so little anymore, is he?" Tony waited for her reply. "Listen, Jeanette. I need a favor." Tony listened again to the woman talk. "Nothing illegal. I just need to know if a Sarah McGee is a patient there?" He waited while the Commander tapped her way into the patients files. "No? What about—about ..." He trailed off as he tried to remember if he had ever heard Tim speak his parents' first names. "Do you have _any_ McGee as a patient?" He waited again while she tapped away at her computer. "Kay McGee?" He repeated. "Is that all?" He listened for a moment. "Okay. Thanks, Jeanette." Tony replaced his phone and settled back into his chair. "Kay McGee." He said looking at Ziva, who had come from behind Tony to perch on his desk.

"Mother?" Ziva questioned. "Another sister? Maybe a cousin?"

Tony shrugged. "I don't know." He ran his fingers through his hair. "Do you think this is the reason that Probie has been so..._unProbie-like..._lately?" Tony looked away, wanting to hide the worry in his deep green eyes.

"It might be." Ziva said, concerned about Tim herself. "He might be worried about this woman."

"So what should we do?" Tony asked, letting Ziva be the voice of reason. If it was left up to him, Tony would have already left for the hospital.

"Do about what?" Gibbs said, coming from behind them.

Both agents jumped at the sound of their boss' voice, Ziva almost falling off where she was perched.

"Do about what?" Gibbs repeated, a little snap in his voice when neither of his agents answered him. He looked around him. "Where's McGee?"

Gibbs watched as Tony and Ziva exchanged a look. He nodded to himself. Yep, something was up.

_~NCIS~_

Tim walked swiftly through the Emergency Room automatic doors and headed straight to the desk where the tech sat.

"I'm here for Kay McGee." He said with no preamble. "I'm her husband."

The tech checked the computer and the reached under the desk, pushing a button to allow the automatic doors to the back to open.

"Go on back. Ask at the nurses station." She said without even looking at him. That disturbed him on so many levels he didn't know where to start. Before he got to the nurses station he could hear Kay's screaming and Sarah's yelling. Tim changed directions and headed toward where he heard Kay and Sarah.

_~NCIS~_

"Where's McGee?" Gibbs asked again when it became apparent that neither of his agents were going to answer him.

"Uh, Boss," Tony said, standing up. "McGee had a family emergency and had to leave."

Gibbs blue eyes went flinty. "Without telling me?"

"Uh, Boss," Tony exchanged another look with Ziva. He so did _not_ want to tell Gibbs he let the Probie go.

"He received a call from Bethesda, Gibbs." Ziva said, taking pity on him.

The two partners breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Gibbs eyes soften in concern. "Sarah?" He inquired softly.

Tony shook his head. "No Sarah McGee as a patient."

"But Tony did find out that there is a Kay McGee as a patient." Ziva finished.

_~NCIS~_

Tim stopped outside the room he could hear his sister's big mouth in, took a deep breath and pushed the door open, walking in. The sight that greeted him would have been amusing if he had been in the mood for laughter. Sarah had a little old doctor cornered, Kay behind her, yelling in his face. This guy had to be three days older than dirt, and Sarah was protecting Kay from him.

"What in the world is going on here?" Tim asked as he came into the room fully.

"Tim!" Kay exclaimed and ran to him, throwing herself into his arms. She started sobbing as she clung to him.

"What happened, Sarah?" Tim demanded, trying to comfort his distraught wife.

"These people can't seem to understand the concept of a _female_ doctor!" She said, glaring at the old man that was still in the corner. "I have told them that Kay will only see a woman, but no one will listen to me!" Sarah threw another furious brown glare at the doctor and he actually tried to back up.

"I have tried to explain to Miss McGee that we are short staffed at the moment but she refused to listen." The doctor said, straightening his glasses and smoothing down his lab coat. "We … _understand_...about Mrs. McGee's special circumstances, and have made every consideration we can. We offered to have a nurse in at the time of examination and we also suggested that Miss McGee stay, too. I don't see what else could be done."

The rational way that the doctor listed everything set Tim's teeth on edge. He really wasn't in the mood for rationality. "You could have gotten her the woman doctor I left specific instructions for!"

"Perhaps if Mrs. McGee had seen an OB at any time during her pregnancy so far, then she would have had her female doctor." The doctor pointed out in that same, calm, rational voice.

Tim growled with frustration, as he patted Kay's back. He couldn't really argue with the doctor because he was right.

"I recommend, that, if your wife intends to carry this child to full term that she goes onto immediate bed rest so that we can monitor her closely." The doctor continued, without paying the least attention to Tim. "I also recommend deep and intense inpatient therapy, after she leaves here, of course, for her trauma."

"No!" Kay wailed from his arms. "I won't do it! I won't stay here! I won't go into inpatient therapy!" She pushed away a little so that she could look into his sea green eyes. "Please, Tim." She begged. "Please don't send me away." She started to cry hysterically. "Please, Please, Please, Please..." She pleaded between sobs.

Sarah rolled her chocolate eyes in disgust but she didn't say anything.

~_NCIS~_

"Kay McGee?" Gibbs questioned. He tried to remember if McGee's mother's name had been Kay but it had been a long time now since he had read Tim's personnel file.

"Yeah." Tony said. "We don't know if that's a family member or..." He trailed off.

Gibbs stood silently as he debated whether to look in McGee's file or just go ahead and send Tony and Ziva to find his wayward agent. Gibbs gut started to churn. It was telling him that this was a piece of the puzzle to what was wrong with the junior agent.

"Bring up his personnel file." Gibbs ordered, making his decision. As Tony typed at his keyboard, Gibbs moved around so that he stood behind Tony's chair, Ziva coming to stand beside him.

Tony shook his head as he skimmed the page. "Kay's not his mom's name. Not another sister, either." He finished that page and was fixing to click to the next when something caught his eye. "There's a notation here." He said absently. "It says that Tim has added someone else to his insurance." Tony tapped his chin as he clicked on the notation. "This must be a mistake..." He trailed off as he read what came on the screen.

He turned wide green eyes to Gibbs. "Boss?" Was all he managed to get out but Gibbs new what he was asking. _'Did you know? Did McGee tell you?'_

Gibbs shook his head. Tony turned to Ziva, who was staring at the computer screen incredulously. She shook her head at Tony's questioning look. No, she hadn't known that McGee was married. An intense feeling of betrayal filled her, something that she could tell the others' shared.

~_NCIS~_

"What now?" Sarah asked wearily as they went into the hall outside Kay's room. Tim had finally gotten Kay calm and they were in the process of finding her a bed in maternity. Tim had convinced her to stay in the hospital for the baby's sake. She had agreed only after Tim had promised that she wouldn't be left alone, but she had stood firm on not going into inpatient therapy.

Sarah faced away from Tim, staring down the hall as he looked at the nurse's station and waited apprehensively for her brother to answer.

Tim tiredly ran a hand through his hair. "We keep on as we are, I guess." He said, leaning against the wall, exhausted. "You stay with her during the day, I take the night shift." Sarah had switched her classes from day to night, taking a less of a course load then she had been the previous years, so that she could help him with Kay. Tim was grateful and proud of his little sister. He couldn't imagine many sisters' doing what Sarah had done, but Sarah and him had always been close.

Sarah shook her head, her shoulders tense. "I'm sorry, Tim. I—I can't do this anymore." Sarah said quietly, as she turned to face her brother. "_You_ can't do this anymore."

Tim let out a weary sigh. "I can't just abandon her, Sarah."

"You're not abandoning her, Tim! You're helping her!" Sarah exclaimed in exasperation.

Tim looked at his sister for a moment, then shook his head. "I can't do that. Please don't ask me to."

Sarah studied her brother for a long minute. She took in the pale, lined face with the dark circles under his red rimmed green eyes. He had lost a lot of the baby fat he once carried before Mexico, but he had lost a lot more since Kay had come into his life, causing his slender frame to adopt a sort of emaciated look. And the worry that sat on his shoulders stooped them with a heavy weight. He was becoming an old man right in front of her eyes and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"It—It hurts me to see what this is doing to you." She said in a whisper, pleading with chocolate brown eyes. "I can't watch anymore." She was begging him to understand. "Please don't ask me too." She said, giving his words back to him.

Tim ran his hand through his sandy hair. "There's no one else, Sarah!" He snapped at her, so very tired of this argument. "I don't have anyone else to help us!"

Sarah glared at him with twin pieces of brown ice. "There's her father!" She hissed at him.

Tim glared right back at her. "Don't start with that again!" He pushed off the wall and turned fully toward her.

Sarah pinched her lips together. "What about your friends then?" She asked through clenched teeth. "Why can't you ask Doctor Mallard to recommend a good therapist? If she won't do inpatient therapy, then at the very least you should get her into one on one sessions."

"I can't do that!" He through his hands in the air in exasperation.

"She needs _help, _Tim!" Sarah exclaimed, brown eyes flashing. "Help that you can't provide!"

"Ducky would want to know why I needed that kind of therapist!"

"Then tell him why!" Sarah exclaimed. "Let him help! Let them all help!" She glared angrily at her brother. "You know that they would want to. And didn't Ziva go through something similar to Kay?" She didn't wait for the nod because she knew she was right. "What about asking Ziva what helped her?"

"I can't ask Ziva that anymore than I can ask for their help."

"Ask me what, McGee?" A hard voice asked from behind him.

"What do you need help with, Probie?" Another voice said. "And why can't you ask for it?"

Tim swung around, the little color that Tim had, draining from his face as he came face to face the last two people on Earth he wanted to see at that moment.

~_NCIS~_


	5. Chapter 5

After sending Tony and Ziva to Bethesda, Gibbs tried to settle back into his work but found it hard to concentrate. He was having a hard time trying to wrap his mind around the fact that his youngest agent had not only, got married and hadn't invited any of his team mates, but hadn't even told them about it. Tim hadn't told _him_. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. On a personal level, if he wanted to be honest, it hurt him a little to think that the man he thought of as his youngest had met, fell in love with, and married a woman that he hadn't even hinted about. And that made him feel like a hypocrite, because Gibbs wasn't sure he had the right to be upset about it. Gibbs had never had the relationship with his junior agent that he had with the rest of his team and Abby. Not because Gibbs didn't think of Tim as he did the rest of them but because Tim had never seemed to need him the way the others did. Tony needed him to be the father that his father should have been, Ziva needed him to be the father that her father hadn't been and Abby needed him to replace what she had had and lost all too soon. Gibbs settled back into his desk chair with a sigh and ran a hand down his face wearily. On a professional level, what did this say about his team? As team leader, it was his job to know what was going on with each agent under him. It was his job to know each of his agent's strengths and weaknesses, his job to know what each of them was capable of. He had to know which cases affected which agents negatively, had to know which part of their jobs left a sour taste in their mouths. He had to know so that he could act accordingly.

Tony DiNozzo was one of the best undercover agents that Gibbs had ever seen. He could slip into another life as easily as someone else could slip on a pair of shoes. He was brash, cocky and borderline insubordinate. He was also smart, streetwise and one of the most loyal people that Gibbs had ever worked with. It was the undercover cases that got to Tony the most. As good as he was at them; he sometimes forgot that they were just cases. He sometimes got too attached and it wasn't a good idea to get too involved because then one forgot which life was real.

Ziva David was one of the strongest women, both in body and spirit, that he had ever known. She was quite inspiring, actually. She had not only survived, but managed to come back from situations that would have completely destroyed most people. She was also as loyal as DiNozzo. It was the cases that involved good men that got to her. Men that embodied what the men in her life always seem to lack.

Timothy McGee was the best man he had ever had to privilege to know. He had a kind of quiet strength that most, even Gibbs, overlooked. He was loyal, trustworthy, and completely brilliant. And at one time, he had been the most honest person that Gibbs had ever known. He had once told Ziva that Tim McGee was nothing like her father or brother. That he didn't know how to lie. It came as quite a shock to Gibbs to realize he couldn't say that anymore. McGee has changed in the ensuing years and Gibbs had failed to get to know the man he had become as well as he should have.

_~NCIS~_

Kelly Gibbs McGee waited a good ten minutes after her husband and sister-in law went into the hall before she slowly got out of her bed and carefully walked toward the door of her room in the emergency department. She knew that she shouldn't be eavesdropping on her husband's conversation with his sister, but she couldn't help herself. She needed to know what Tim's thoughts were on what the doctor had advised and she had a feeling that Sarah would get him talking on the subject.

Kelly was well aware of how her sister-in-law felt about her. And she knew that Tim's sister thought that Kelly felt about the same way, but it wasn't true. Well, not exactly. She amended silently. It wasn't that Kelly didn't trust or like Sarah McGee. It was that she didn't know her husband's sister that well. Not like she knew Tim. Kelly was aware that Sarah would argue the point, but Tim and Kelly did know each other. They understood each other, which was much more important. They understood why they were the way they were. They're connection had been forged through shared experiences; through pain, anguish and fear. She had never believed she would ever escape from the hell that had been her life since she was eight years old. If it wasn't for Tim should never would have. Kelly had resigned herself to never getting away from Paloma and had stopped trying to. But Tim had given her the hope of rescue back when he was brought to the compound. That hope intensified when he did manage to make a getaway with her in tow. But even though she was no longer a prisoner didn't mean she wasn't still afraid. She was always afraid. The only time she felt safe was when she was with Tim. He had done everything for her. He rescued her, he married her so she could come home, he shared his apartment and his life with her. He was going to claim her baby, if he wasn't the father, as his own. Without Tim McGee, Kelly wasn't sure what she would have done. She owed him _everything_. She wasn't stupid, even if she did only have a third grade education. She knew why he was doing this. He may have done it out of the goodness of his heart, but he also did it because he was guilt ridden. He felt he had taken advantage of her, he felt that he was no better than the people who had hurt her. Tim had once said that no matter what he did, he would never be able to make _that _night, the one she refused to discuss with him, up to her. But Kelly didn't know how she would make everything he had done for her up to _him_. He was even keeping her a secret from her father and she knew what keeping that secret was doing to him. But she just wasn't ready. She wasn't sure if she would ever be ready, if the truth be known. Would her father even really want to know? It had been twenty years. What would be the point _now_? They had lived longer without each other then they had lived with each other.

She stopped half way to the door and rubbed her protruding stomach, taking a deep breath, willing the sharp pain to go away. Kelly only made it another couple of steps when a severe cramp hit her, the worst yet, causing her to double over and let out a small sound of pain.

_~NCIS~_

"Tony…Ziva." Tim said. "What are you doing here?" He turned to his sister. "You _called_ them?" He hissed, his sea green eyes flashing with accusation.

Sarah's brown eyes widened. "What?" She sputtered. "No!" She denied swiftly. "I wouldn't do that!"

"Relax, Probie." Tony said tightly. "Gibbs sent us."

Tim turned back to his two partners. "Why would he do that?" He asked incredulously.

Tony and Ziva eyed him for a minute.

"You have been keeping secrets from us, McGee." Ziva said finally, anger clear in her earth colored eyes.

Tim felt the color drain from his face again. "I—I don't know what you're talking about." He stuttered before he swallowed, trying to moisten his suddenly dry throat.

Matching hurt looks came over his two co- workers faces and Tim felt like a heel. He took a deep breath and blew it out on a sigh. "Tony..." He said, shaking his head. "Ziva…" But before he could finish there was a Kay screamed from inside the room and Tim quickly switched his focus from his partners to his wife. "Kay!" He exclaimed, rushing into the hospital room. What he saw made his heart beat out of his chest and fear consumed him.

Kay was doubled over holding her stomach, breathing heavily, and standing in a small pool of blood.

"Get a doctor!" He shouted over his shoulder, not caring who obeyed his order. He ran the few steps to Kay and picked her up without ceremony, cradling her in his arms, and hurriedly depositing her on her bed. "Kay." He said in anguish, looking into her pain filled ice blue eyes. Tim wasn't an idiot. He knew that something bad was wrong.

"Tim." She said, tears pouring down her face, pain clear in her voice. "Tim, the baby…" She trailed off as another sharp pain stabbed her abdomen. She felt a gush between her legs and knew that her water had just broken. "It's too soon, Tim!" She wailed, curling in on herself. "It's too soon!" Fear consumed her, suffocating her. She'd truly believed that she didn't want the baby, so afraid that it wasn't Tim's. It could be Tim's but the odds were it wasn't and she didn't believe that she could be the right kind of mother to it. The kind of mother her mother had been to her. But she had been wrong. Because all Kelly could think at that moment was, '_Please, someone, save my baby.'_

Tim grabbed her hand, holding tightly to it. "I'm here, Kay." He said. Her familiar blue eyes begged him to tell her it would be okay, that everything was going to turn out alright, but he wasn't sure of that and he had promised long ago that he would never lie to her. So he couldn't lie, not even now, when she so desperately needed a lie. "I'm here." He said lamely again.

She grabbed his hand like a lifeline and he could see the gratitude in her eyes, because she wouldn't have believed him if Tim had lied. And the lie would have damaged what they had managed to build together.

Tony and Ziva stood in the doorway, stunned. They were shocked by the familiarity of a woman that both was quite certain they had never met before. They were surprised—and really shouldn't have been—that the wife they didn't even know their friend had was pregnant with their child. But what struck the two of them most of all was the strangeness of the scene that was being played out before them. There were no desperate pleas for comfort, no false promises made that everything was going to be alright, no whispered confessions of love. It was quite disconcerting. The two partners weren't sure what to think or even what to do. That they're partner was tore up about the fragile looking woman that lay on the bed was clear on his face for all to see. Whatever other that wasn't between them, there was at least that. Tony pulled Ziva to the side. "Go call Gibbs." He whispered. "I'll stay with Probie."

She glanced at her younger partner before she quietly made her way out of the room.


End file.
